CEO Update - April 2013

Ratification Information Meetings

Over the past few weeks, I have been very busy travelling across the province to meet with members to discuss the changes made in the new tentative agreements and to answer your questions. During my tour I have been impressed by the level of engagement by members.

As a result of your questions and comments at these meeting, we have posted a list of Frequently Asked Questions to the members section of the website to improve understanding of the agreements.

Additionally, I would like to remind members who could not attend a meeting in person that I will be holding a Webinar Conference Call to discuss the tentative agreements on Friday, April 12 at 10:00 AM. To register for the meeting visit: http://ow.ly/iQ93Z

Ratification Voting Process

Ratification votes for the tentative agreements for each division are scheduled to be conducted electronically between 8:00 AM Monday, April 15 and 5:00 PM (Pacific Time) Thursday, April 18, 2013.

The primary contact for your agency should have received an email from Reveal Research Inc., the third-party marketing research firm hired to conduct the vote. If you have not received this email, please contact Bela Barros at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Members are reminded to follow their agency’s approval process before casting their ratification vote. For many agencies this may mean seeking approval from their board of directors.

For more information on the voting process please read the Bargaining Bulletin titled Ratification Voting Procedure posted to the members section of the website.

New Workforce Information System

I’m pleased to announce we will be launching the new Community Social Services Workforce Information System (WFIS) in May. The new online system will save members time by streamlining data collection by combining four surveys into one and providing members with the ability to generate member-specific reports comparing their agency against the sector.

To help members become familiar with the system regional orientation sessions are planned for the beginning of May. More information regarding the meetings, the system and who should attend will be sent out later this month.

CSSEA Website Login Access Changes

To improve website security and better serve our members, CSSEA is changing access to the members section of our website by transitioning login credentials from agency-specific login accounts to user-specific login accounts. Before the middle of April an email will be sent to the primary contact of each agency explaining the change with a link to setup their account.  I thank you in advance for your cooperation making our website more secure and user friendly.

If you have any questions please contact Kathie Best at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

New Staff

I’m pleased to announce Shannon Bentley has joined CSSEA as Advocate, Aboriginal Services. Shannon joins us from White Raven Law (www.whiteravenlaw.ca) and brings more than 20 years of experience as a lawyer and policy analyst focused on Aboriginal Issues in Canada and Washington State.

To contact Shannon please phone or email her at 604.601.3105 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .